Manchester City eased past Sheffield United to move up to third in the table thanks to goals in each half from Rodri and Julian Alvarez.
The champions were in control from the first minute to the last at the Etihad Stadium and secured their first back-to-back wins since the start of November, moving two points behind the leaders Liverpool, who play on Monday.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
38 | +13 | 66 |
How the match unfolded
Man City made two changes from Wednesday’s win at Everton, with Josko Gvardiol coming in for the injured John Stones while Mateo Kovacic replaced Matheus Nunes.
Kevin De Bruyne was named on the bench after recovering from a hamstring injury that has kept him out of action since the opening weekend.
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Chris Wilder made five changes to the defeat to Luton Town. Anel Ahmedhodzic, James McAtee, Gustavo Hamer, Oliver McBurnie and Cameron Archer were replaced by Jayden Bogle, Oliver Norwood, Luke Thomas, Anis Ben Slimane and William Osula.
City made a dominant start and took a deserved lead in the 14th minute as Rodri drove through Sheff Utd’s midfield and produced a fine shot from range into the bottom-left corner for his fourth goal of the season.
It is the second time the Spaniard has scored against Sheff Utd this season, having got the 88th-minute winner in the reverse fixture.
Opportunities were at a premium for Sheff Utd but they did fashion a half-chance through Osula, who controlled Bogle’s cross before seeing his effort deflected behind by Manuel Akanji.
City then put the contest to bed in the 61st minute when Alvarez scored a tap-in at the far post after being set up by Phil Foden as the Argentinian scored his fourth goal in his last three matches in all competitions.
Sheff Utd barely threatened City’s goal, only producing four shots in the entire match. They remain rooted to the bottom of the table with nine points from 20 matches.
Man City report | Sheff Utd report
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
38 | -11 | 40 |
| 16 |
Brentford
BRE
|
38 | -9 | 39 |
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | -18 | 32 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
38 | -33 | 26 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
38 | -37 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
38 | -69 | 16 |
Next five Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Man City’s 938 successful passes against Sheffield United is the second-most on record in a Premier League game (since 2003/04), behind their own record of 942 against Swansea City in April 2018. Indeed, their 81.8% possession figure was their highest in a Premier League match since May 2021 against Newcastle United (82.1%).
Eight of Rodri’s 18 Premier League goals for Man City have come from outside the penalty area. Of players to score at least 15 goals for the club in the competition, the Spaniard has the highest such proportion (44%).
Foden assisted both goals against Sheff Utd– it’s just the third time he’s provided multiple assists in a Premier League game, previously doing so against Southampton in March 2021 and Leeds United in April 2022, while he has also provided at least five assists in each of his last four Premier League campaigns (since 2020/21).
Man City recorded their first clean sheet in the Premier League since beating Manchester United 3-0 in October, ending an eight-match run without one. Indeed, they’ve now won each of their last seven Premier League meetings with Sheffield United.